The Davis Bay Elementary Greenhouse- Summer 2019 (my school) photographed by J. Groves
When I first read over all of the assignments for this course, I was giddy with excitement about the possibilities within. As my own thinking has expanded during the past few months and I have been exposed to new philosophies in education, I have stretched my thinking about what is possible in my own school setting. I am passionate about sustainability, nature education and the well-being of all in a school community.
Genius Hour became an opportunity for me to design something practical and useful for myself and my educational community for the upcoming year.
That is how I landed on the topic of:
‘Becoming a Living School: Year One’.
I have read a number of published (and soon to be published!) works on the philosophy of Living Schools and have found that not only do Living School principles align with my own vision as an educator, but also with that of the school I am currently working in. I believe that the shift to a Living School would be an easy one for us as a school community, and could offer us a new sense of purpose and direction, and a connection to a greater global community of self-identified Living Schools.
I have designed a few transferable tools that any teacher or administrator could use to become a Living School themselves. I hope that others out there who are wanting to shift into a Living School will find these things useful in their own right.
In order to design these components to be most useful, I asked myself a number of questions:
What resources would I need to pitch the idea of a Living School to my school staff, parent community and students?
If there was school support to become a Living School, what tools would I need to support the initial process?
How could I make becoming a Living School easier for others who are trying to become one?
These were my starter questions and as I wanted this project to hold value and excitement for myself, the areas I focused on reflected that. I have already had a conversation with my administrator about becoming a Living School next year and she is keen. That makes these documents even more valuable for the cause at my school.
Some things to note-I invented language for this project. Namely, calling the lead in a school hoping to become a Living School the 'engager'. It felt appropriate to me, as I see myself as being the one to engage others in the process next year. I also did not want to use any names in the materials, so that if anyone was inspired to use anything as a template for their own school, they could. Of course, I see that Catherine O'Brien and Patrick Howard get final say in any of the documents related to Living Schools. So essentially, at this time, I'm speaking about any of you, who may feel like you might want to initiate becoming a Living School at your own facility. Second-I cannot attach word documents or power points in this website so I am taking screen shots of the work and will attach all files in Moodle for you to peruse/and have access to if they are useful for you.
In the 'Becoming a Living School' package you will find:
1. A letter to staff to be sent out in August, explaining the idea of becoming a Living School.
2. A Power Point presentation to be shared with Staff, Administration, and PAC explaining what a Living School is. Depending on the community you live in, it could also be shared with involved community members.
3. A short stop motion video to share with students about Living Schools.
4. A year-long school calendar, laying out possibilities for committees, meetings, and simple steps to transform a school into a Living School.
I hope to implement the tools I have created next school year. I see them as ‘Living Documents’ that can be shifted and altered as need be. I give full permission to anyone out there interested in using them to feel free, and also alter and shift the prototypes as needed for their own Living Schools purpose. I tried to ride the line between offering support and not leading anyone to specific projects. As far as my own understanding extends, each Living School is a unique entity and the projects to move a school forward as a Living School will reflect the needs and wants of each unique community. You will notice this neutrality specifically in the calendar I created. It outlines ideas around meetings to host, questions to pose, but does not offer ‘first projects in year one’. Although I am very curious to know what the first projects at my school will be. I certainly have some ideas!
I am eager to transform my tiny school into a Living School-a place where ‘well-being for all’ is honoured and acknowledged on a daily basis, and the school population is supporting each other in making this goal a reality. I see real opportunities for our school community and the surrounding more-than-human world to benefit from a recognized shift to becoming a Living School. We are already breaking ground around our school toward being a healthy and sustainable school on a number of levels. I look forward to joining the greater Living School community and being a part of a support network as we navigate the Living Schools philosophy and ethos.
My next course in this program is Sustainable Happiness and Well-Being. I am very much looking forward to completing this course before I use these documents. My sense is that I may learn more about Living Schools and need to edit as I grow. I imagine that others who are a part of Living Schools edit as they grow too.
Here are a number of other amazing Living Schools Resources to get you and your school going, created by the Living Schools foundation:
Resources:
O'Brien, C. & Howard, P. (2019). Living Schools: Connecting Classrooms to Nature and Well-Being For All. Retrieved from: https://www.livingschools.world/ .
O'Brien, C. & Howard, P. Ed. (2020). Living Schools: Transforming Education. (soon to be published!)
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